We Were Blind
by Kc495
Summary: Due to circumstances, Hikaru's forced into six months of community service, and he's assigned the responsibility of taking care of a stubborn blind woman. They're the polar opposite yet so painfully alike. And what could make this even worse? - They have to live together.
1. Prologue

****We were Blind****

 _ _Prologue__

* * *

Careful hands caressed her skin.

Her back was steeled into a straight line as she felt the light wraps of fabric fall from her face. Antagonizingly slow. Her fingers shook. __Terrified.__

She hid her sweating palms into tight fists in her lap.

As soon as her face was free, The doctor's voice appeared somewhere behind her. She could hear the smile on his lips as he spoke, dripping of sugary, practiced hopefulness. Her fingers moved, clutching the sides of her chair.

"There, see? Not one scar. And you were worried."

She was worried. So worried she refused take off the bandages after surgery, until she was sure that the bruising was completely healed. It wasn't because a scar would bother her, but her father would be horrified. She didn't want to listen to him fuss.

The doctor laughed, as her eyes were squeezed shut.

"You can open your eyes now, Fujioka.

She felt more lost then when her eyes were shut, stuck in the middle of nowhere, trying to blink away the dark. She felt confined. She lifted her hand in front of her face, as if trying to grab a hold of it and pull it away, to free herself as the jaws of thick air around her swallowed her whole.

"Fujioka?"

She bravely raised herself from the chair, trembling as her foot reached for something to step on, but her footing was lost in darkness and she fell to the floor in a dislocated heap, holding back a scream as the fall seemed endless fall to her death.

"Haruhi!"

 _What's happening?_

A hand gripped her shoulder, fingers sinking into her like teeth. She gasped, desperately trying to push them away. __Frightened,__ as the world completely left her behind.

Her heart was pounding, as her mind, having nowhere else to go, looped around the sound shattering glass, and crunching metal, forever imprisoning her inside those last, fateful seconds before her sight was taken away. The sound of wheels sliding across pavement like nails to a chalkboard.

"Fujioka, look at me."

 _I... I can't._

Forever in that bus, as it spun out of control.

Arms hooked around her arm, and she was pulled limply to her feet. Now suddenly floating in the middle of nowhere.

She hadn't cried in so long.

Now she couldn't help it. Tears pooling under her eyes, as she clung to steady hands around her, afraid they'll disappear and leave her stranded again in this new bleak and lifeless wasteland.

A hand was placed over her eyes. In a somewhat effective attempt to calm her down.

"Tell me what you see."

* * *

"What?"

" _ _Nothing__." Her chest purred, her body cupping around the curve of his body and he struggled to stay in his seat, and his hands gripped her escaped thigh, to keep her from falling away from him. "I didn't say anything.

He swore he heard something, but lips flew to his mouth, swallowing and he forgot all about it. Her hands tugged through his hair, nails leaving bright red marks against his skin.

They were tucked away in a corner of the large, dark, crowded bar, as the DJ slapped in another loud playlist of music that hammered through the speakers, then, yelled that the next round of drinks were on the house.

But Hikaru was already too drunk to remember the name of the girl straddled in his lap. He couldn't even remember where she came from.

She parted their lips with a groan, kissing down his neck, thinking she was being sneaky as she slipped her hands into the loose buttons of his shirt.

He was the heir to the most famous fashion designer in Japan, and she wasn't his betrothed. If someone were to see them together, it'd be quiet the scandal. And that somehow gave him a wicked kind of thrill to keep going. He was the eldest son, always trying to please __Mother.__ Always having to be on his "best behavior", and doing something she would have a heart attack over was wildly exciting.

The girl pulled back, tugging playful at his collar as if she thought that turned him on. "We should go somewhere more private, don't you think?" she said.

"What for?" He muttered. "Are you embarrassed?"

She stared at him thoughtfully, fluttering her long dark lashes. "I just thought you might want to get a little more __comfortable__."

Her hands grazed boldly around the rim of his belt, making her true intentions known. Though the whole situation made him want to laugh in her face.

He pushed a piece of hair behind her ear and cupped his finger under her chin, tilting her face until her eyes were leveled with his. "Is that what you thought you were for?"

"Huh?"

She didn't have time to react before he pushed her off his lap. He stood up, and completely discarded her, as if she were nothing more than a piece of garbage.

"Wait a minute," She glared, clutching her dress together. "Where are __you__ going?"

"You've lost my interest." He said simply.

" _ _Excuse__ me?"

He turned in her direction, but looked passed her, to watch the glint of the red and blue lights dance in the windows.

"You're __boring__ me."

Such was expected. They all bored him eventually. Like a child getting fed up of old toys. And it wasn't even fun anymore.

He was in the middle of fixing the buttons of his shirt when the doors suddenly burst open. The music was still blaring loudly, but people around him started to scramble. Through the noise and the dark he couldn't hear what was happening around him, until the lights were switched on, and there was a loud scream.

Hikaru turned, and a large hand reached for his hand, twisting his wrist behind his back, and shoved him against the wall so hard he choked on his breath. The girl beside him watched, un-bothered, as a voice growled in his ear, and for the first time in a long time, he started to panic.

"You're under arrest."

 _ _Wait.__

 _ _What?__


	2. Chapter 1

**We Were Blind**

-1-

* * *

Hikaru's arms were crossed over his chest as he kicked one foot out onto the small coffee table and let the other hang loosely over the floor. He stopped listened to what the old man was saying in front of him, and focused on the clock on the wall, ticking ever so often, ticking off every minute as it passed.

How long had he been stuck in this office? He lost track of the time, but it felt like hours.

After being forced through a meaningless trial, that lasted hours, and only pointed out the obvious - that he was _innocent_ \- they had the nerve to shove him into a stuffy office to wait for a social worker to give him a proper punishment. Which seemed horribly repetitive, especially since he hadn't _done_ anything wrong.

"What were you _thinking_?" A voice mumbled from the seat beside him.

"It wasn't my fault," Hikaru threw his head back. He had said it so many times that day that it just came out automatically. "How was I supposed to know they were selling drugs from the basement? I don't run the place. And It's not like I took anything. What'd you take me for?"

"Not that," Kaoru muttered sourly. "I mean what were you doing there in the first place?"

"It's a _bar_ , Kaoru, what do you think I was doing there?"

Kaoru sighed, tossing the cheap magazine off his lap into the empty chair, before kicking away his brother's foot that was rudely perched on the table. "What is Chise going to think?"

Hikaru curled his nose. " _Who_?"

His twin shot him a disapproving look that made him roll his eyes.

 _Ah yes..._ he grimaced, _his fiancé._ He almost forgot she existed. It wasn't hard. It had been over a year since he saw her, and it was only for a moment.

"What about her?"

Kaoru decided to drop what he knew was going to turn into a ridiculous argument and decided to pointedly add, "And what's _mother_ going to say? I doubt Mr. Tanaka will call off the engagement, but she's still going to be embarrassed. And you're not the one who has to listen to her complain."

" _Again_ , I didn't do anything _wrong_ -"

He said that louder than he intended, which was responded with a sharp glare from the officer behind the desk. He had been so quiet he forgot he was there.

"Regardless whether you did anything or not - because you were there and didn't report anything, I can't let you go without punishment."

He huffed. "Without punishment? What is this? _Middle school._ "

The nameless officer fingered through the pages of an open file, pulling out a single piece of paper, staring between the two boys, hesitating.

"So, we're sentencing you to six months-"

Kaoru gasped.

"Of community service."

He sighed in relief.

"Community service?" Hikaru sputtered. "I don't have time for that!"

The man threw down his file in front of him, displaying a devil-may-care scowl. "Looks like you're pretty free for the next six months."

He groaned. "Six months of cleaning up _garbage_? Can't I just pay a fine?"

"Cleaning up garbage would be a waste of this opportunity." The man smirked. " _Actually_ ," he paused as he pulled out a single piece of paper, "A position just opened up and I think it would be perfect for you."

"I want a _lawyer_."

He was ignored.

"There's a new in-home care program." He explained, his tone a little too cheery for the situation, as he tossed a pamphlet out of his desk, over towards Hikaru. Who barely spared it a glance before dropping it in Kaoru's lap. "It's for people who can't live on their own without assistance, but can't stay at the hospital. It'd get pretty costly, if they moved nurses in with them, so they've opened the the job up for volunteers, with too much time on their hands, to look after them instead."

He gestured his hand to Hikaru. "Like yourself."

"Wait," Hikaru grumbled, still curled up on his seat like a pouting child. "You want me to take care of _old_ people?"

"That's not the spirit," The officer scolded, with a smirked on his face as he rested in his on his fingers, obviously enjoying himself. "And, _no_. Not quiet. It would just be one person. You'd be sort of their... _personal aid_."

"And we've just got a new request." He said, eyes glowing in interest. "Perfect match for you, actually."

 _Great._

He had been replaying that word bitterly around his head since his designated social worker finally found his way into the room. Kaoru apologized for not being able to go with him to meet his new " _little sick puppy"_ he called it, and left him to tend him to tend to whatever needs their Mother demanded. That left Hikaru alone, with only the company of the scruffy looking social worker who, to his annoyance, looked nonetheless too pleased to wheel Hikaru away to his ultimate doom.

And now, hurting his neck as he looked up at the tall brick apartment, full of the poor, dirty and broken, he realized that the next six months were going to be very, _very_ long.

He shoved his hands into his pockets, shielding himself away from the crisp August breeze and the stench of the less fortunate and- he curled his nose, _what was that?_

Hikaru turned, looking over his shoulder to see a man grilling sushi from his truck.

 _Fast food?_

 _Great._

"Kill me." He groaned.

"Don't be like that." The social worker chimed. Hikaru was sure he told him his name when they first shook hands but he could remember it now. "I think it's nice. Could be worse."

Could it get any worse? Hikaru looked down at his shoes and rubbed his hands together inside his hoodie's pocket. He swore his skin was already getting clammy. Must be the pollution in the air. It was a lot thicker down here.

He cleared his throat, wincing.

 _Ugh. Yeah._ _Poor people._

It was giving him heartburn.

"I'm sure they're just as excited to meet you," He grinned, showing off his pearly teeth. "Remember to be nice. You'll be seeing each other a lot so it's best you get along."

They tackled the steep metal steps leading up to the sun faded doors on the second story, and every step of the way, Hikaru counted every smooshed piece of gum, the pairs of wet shoes left at the doorsteps, and the laundry hung over the railing.

It felt alien to him. He had only seen things like this in movies. He could only image what the people looked like. What the person he was supposed to be taking care of looked like. They must be old if they needed to be looked after. It was probably a grouchy old man in a wheel chair.

Which, couldn't be too hard, he supposed. But for six months? He could barely stand his own grandmother.

Then a thought occurred to him, and he stopped.

 _If I have to give anyone a sponge bath I'm leaving._

He jumped as the social worker knocked on one door with a worn bamboo welcome mat and felt his stomach start to turn.

"On second thought," he started, "I think I'd rather just go to jail."

The man grabbed his collar as he turned and tried to walk away, as Hikaru was surprised how easy it was for the man to fling him back into place.

" _Behave_." He huffed, and quickly stood up straight as the door slowly opened. Hikaru prepared himself for the worst, holding his breath, expecting a slouching old man dressed with a long white weird, and held his breath, dreading that old person musk.

But as the door opened, a cheery " _Oh, you're here_!" made his eyes snap back open.

It was a person standing before him, with long, curly red hair, wearing shiny pink high heels and long dark eyelashes. He almost mistook them for a woman, but his eyes caught on to their sharp jawline and realized he was a man, greeting them in, with long painted nails on his outstretched hand.

He opened the door widely, a smile stretching his red lipstick. "We weren't expecting you until tomorrow. Come in, _please_."

Hikaru stood frozen in the doorway, bracing himself as if he was stepping into a whole other realm. He was in the middle of breathing what he thought was his last breath of fresh air when a hand shoved him roughly inside. He stumbled, but quickly straightened himself out before the man with red hair could notice.

" _Haruhi,_ " The man's voice grew soft and sweet, almost like he was afraid, or at the very least, was trying to be cautious. "Haru, the social worker is here."

It didn't look like there was anyone else in the tiny apartment, and there wasn't much space to look around. The door opened into tiny walkway, which displayed the tiny square living room for just one glance. He was used to such extravagant luxuries, that everything from the small television in the corner to the table and couch in the middle looked like they were pulled straight out of a dollhouse.

But there was no dirt and it didn't stink.

And it smelt kind of like pumpkins and homemade stew.

He followed the red haired man's eyes to the other side of the room and his eyes finally found the missing person, sitting in the corner, curled in a ball on the floor, facing a steaming cup of tea on the table. Their choppy brown hair peaking out from under their small purple hoodie.

 _Oh, it's not an old man._

 _It was a child._

He squinted.

 _Just a boy._

He sighed out loud in relief.

 _I guess it could be worse-_

After the small figure didn't respond, the man threw his arm out, smiling wearily now.

"You can call me Ranka. And this is my _daughter,"_ He said _,_ shutting the door carefully before turning to Hikaru, his eyebrows knitted strangely. "And you must be..."

"The _volunteer,_ " An arm draped itself over his shoulders, squeezing him hard, trying to urge him to speak. "It's his first day, so he's a little shy."

Hikaru gasped. "Wha-"

"You look familiar." The man stiffened. "Do I _know_ you?"

Before Hikaru could reply with a curt ' _Like hell you would_ ' he cut him off again.

"I was a bit nervous about signing up for this program." He admitted, his eyes turning dark as he looked down at him. He was only a few inches taller than him in his heels, but somehow still made Hikaru feel two feet shorter. "It was full of _criminals_."

Hikaru opened his mouth.

"No. This one's _harmless_. Just a spoiled little rich boy."

He glared, but bit his tongue.

 _Well he's not wrong._

 _"_ Haruhi _,"_ The man called out again, in a tone that practically spoke "final attempt". "Come say _hi_."

The apparent _girl_ reluctantly raised herself to her feet, putting a stable hand against the table so she wouldn't fall. He heard her sigh, and surprised himself by trying desperately to get a look at her face, but she stared at the floor. Face half hidden by her hood.

Her steps were slow, and with every other movement she pressed a hand to her surroundings, before her father was able to pull her snugly against him. But besides the fact that she wouldn't stop staring at his shoes, Hikaru couldn't see anything wrong with her.

She didn't say anything, and, with a strong habit of wanting to please, Hikaru stuck his arm out, to shake her hand.

An awkward silence fell in the room and Hikaru's hand was quickly swatted away by his social worker.

"...She's _blind_." Her father grumbled.

He shrunk back. _...Oh._

When she didn't say anything, he took a step back.

"How do talk to a _blind_ person?"

"I can _hear_ you," she suddenly snapped. "I'm not _deaf_."

He jumped back, not expecting her to be able to speak, looking at her as if she was some form of creature he had never seen before. Like she was an alien and he was afraid she'd use her absent eyes to dissect his brain.

Ranka cleared his throat, after nudging Haruhi. "Like I said in the email, I live on the other side of Adachi. My hours are so unpredictable that I can't really keep an eye on her-" he paused as Haruhi grumbled something under her breathe, but he ignored her. "Although, I wasn't expecting him to be... a _boy_."

"I'm not sure if this will work out." He added uncertainly. "They can't _stay_ together."

Hikaru immediately turned to the door to leave. _Thank god-_

But he wasn't quick enough and the social worker grabbed his wrist and pulled him back inside. " _Good_. I think it'll be perfect for him to learn some _manners_."

" _What_ -"

"And I'll be checking on them once a week, to make sure they're living within-" He squeezed Hikaru's shoulder. "- _Arrangements_ together."

"Wait a minute," Hikaru's wrinkled into a scowl, hearing that word again. " _Together_? You never say I'd have to-"

"I did. In the car." He said simply. "I guess you weren't listening."

He took in the entire apartment in one look, then turned back to the messy disheveled girl, then back at the apartment, and started to sputter in horror. "I- I can't live _here_." he pointed his finger at her. "With _that_."

Ranka gasped and looked like he was about to let go of Haruhi's hand, lunge at Hikaru and bite his head off, but the relatively calm social worker stepped in between them. His hand tightened on Hikaru's shoulder, as he turned to smile softly at Haruhi, who's eyes were glued to her own feet.

"They'll be okay." He reassured, "I think these two have a lot to learn from each other. Trust me. I'm never wrong on these sort of things."

"Plus..." He muttered, "He's the only one on my list who fit your qualifications, and, well... I didn't know what else to do with him so..." he looked between the two, already feeling the stale air radiating off of them.

With another shove to his back, Hikaru stumbled closer to Haruhi and she recoiled from the sound of his footsteps, clutching her hands into fists, ready to punch him away.

"Yeah, they'll be fine." He concluded with a grin. "I have some things to talk about with your father. We'll only be a minute, so you kids introduce yourselves. _Play nice_."

Before he could collect himself enough to react, they were already gone, and he was alone. With _her._ He quickly stepped away, realizing how close they were standing but she didn't seem to notice. She was still glaring at the empty spot on the floor where he used to be standing.

He shifted awkwardly on his feet, glancing at his watch, then at the wall, looking for something that could spark a conversation. Not that he wanted to talk to her, but the empty silence was starting to suffocate him. He didn't know what to say. What are you _supposed_ to say to people like her? He was forced into someone else's world he didn't understand. Everything down to the very way she breathed was foreign to him.

"So... you're _blind_ then, huh?"

"Go _die_." She hissed.

He nodded.

I guess that wasn't it.


	3. Chapter 2

**We Were Blind**

 _-2-_

* * *

There had been a lot of women in Hikaru Hitachiin's life.

Some he wined and dined, then ran way from. Some out of his reach and some he threw away like garbage.  
They were beautiful. All of them just shy from perfection. The kind of people that surrounded him always were. They had to be. Their eyes always glittering, batting long curled eyelashes. There was always someone sitting in his lap and smearing their lipstick on him. Such was the life of the rich and eligible.

He knew they didn't love him. They thought as little about him as he did them. They loved getting to run their claws down his back and shove their tongues down his throat. They loved being pampered at night then ditched in the morning. And he knew he was only being used just as much as he was using them. That was their thrill. That was what they considered fun.

And with his mother as his puppet master, dangling an arranged marriage over his head, he loved cutting the strings and having _a lot_ of fun.

There were girls he made cry. Girls he mad angry. Girls he humiliated. He'd been slapped and shouted at, and if he had kept all the glasses of wine that were splashed into his face, he could start his own winery.

A lot Women loved him.

A lot of women hated him.

But Haruhi Fujioka, who had never even seen his face, seemed to hate him the most.

For absolutely no reason.

Which is what he accused her of, but Ranka had finally found his way back inside the apartment and stopped herself before she could reply. Eventually The social worker, who's name he finally remembered being _Yamamoto,_ convinced her father that they would try _this_ for three days, and if Haruhi still wasn't happy. They would find a replacement. And he, as Yamakoto threatened, would spend the rest of his community service giving sponge baths and cleaning bed pans if he screwed up and didn't make peace with the "poor blind girl."

" _Harmless_ " he called her. " _She can't see you_."

" _It'll be easy_ " he said.

"I don't _need_ you here." Her voice stabbed him, pulling him out of his sulk. "I can take care of myself."

Hikaru sighed. They were supposed to be discussing sleeping arrangements, but after she suggested that he sleep outside they gave up on that topic.

" _Can_ you?" he mocked, leaning half across the table. It wasn't everyday he could look at a girl however he wanted. She couldn't get angry at the churlish grin on his face. She couldn't even see it. She had hadn't even made eye contact with him, and when she finally did. Her eyes looked lost. Like they were staring into themselves.

He could make all the faces he wanted at her. Her only reaction was getting angry and she couldn't move away. In a sense; she was a perfect toy.

Although he did need to make a good impression. The last thing he wanted was to fail at something so easy as getting the attention of a _girl_. And he'd never live it down if he had to spend the next six months feeding old people. The whole bar scandal was already going to shadow over his reputation.

His eyes lit up as a thought occurred to him.

"Tell you want." He chimed suddenly, perching his chin on his elbow. "Let's play a _game._ "

She stiffened.

He watched her face closely, taking an abandoned cup from the corner of the table, and placing it in front of him. Haruhi didn't move. Her brow twitched as she was trying to concentrate.

He then took the half full water pitcher off the side table and sat it in front of her.

" _And_ I'll make you a deal," he said, wholeheartedly, slumping back against the pillow on the floor. "If you can pour that water into this cup without spilling any, I'll call your father _personally_ , and tell him you don't need me, and I'll leave."

Hikaru looked at her from under his lashes, like a scheming business man. "Fair?"

She was quiet for a moment, as if to consider, but that's what he wanted. They both knew she couldn't do it, maybe she could figure it out if she tried, but if she couldn't, she'd just be playing into his stupid game and make a fool of herself. He just wanted to be right. He was the "care-giver" and that somehow made him think that he should be the one in charge.

That always gave people a rush. Helping someone less fortunate, didn't it? Helping someone who was poorer than you. Someone less capable than you. Someone who was "Broken". Everyone wanted to feel like a good person. But he wanted her to feel helpless. He wanted her to need him help so he could feel above her.

She didn't need him to tell her she was broken. She felt it. She couldn't see the smug look on his face, but she could hear it. He was making fun of her. He didn't want to be here and his intentions reflected that, so he wanted to make it as fun for him as possible.

"I don't need to prove anything," Haruhi muttered sourly. "I _don't_ need your help."

He scoffed. "So you _can't_ do it?"

"I don't want to."

"Because you _can't_."

She couldn't see it, but he was smirking and it made her stomach turn.

Haruhi tightened her jaw and went for the handle of the water pitcher, before her other hand reached for the glass cup. It was further away and had to feel around the table to find it. Their fingers awkwardly brushed along themselves and after laughing out loud, he graciously assisted her by pushing the cup into her hand.

Apparently that was gratifying, as he sat back, pressing a fist in front of his Cheshire grin. She couldn't see it, but the gesture in itself made her want to vomit. Once she lifted the pitcher off the table, her hands were lost. She started to shake, and the longer she hesitated, the more he enjoyed it.

This was stupid, but it scared her. She hadn't done anything since the accident last week. Her father waited on her hand and foot. Not because she wanted him to, but if hadn't she would have wasted away on the couch. She refused to eat. She couldn't sleep. Because she really couldn't do anything without tripping and stumbling, or dropping something.

Her father asked for a care-taker after she had broken three teacups and almost fell down the stairs.

She did need help. She knew that.

But she didn't want it.

Especially not from someone like _him_.

Hand still holding the pitcher in the air, she moved the cup ever so slightly out of the way, and, with a gently turn of her wrist tipped the pitcher over and poured.

He started to laugh again in an I-told-you-so kind of tone. Until, the water hit the table with a bursting splash, as she turned the pitcher completely upside down.

Hikaru's jaw fell. "...Wha-"

And he nearly jumped off the floor when she took the pitcher in both her hands, and threw it across the room. He choked on a gasp as it struck the wall and hit the floor in pieces.

It was quiet, as he had completely swallowed his words, until she spoke up again.

"Clean this up."

He jerked around, eyes and mouth both open wide.

" _Wha_ -" he sputtered. " _N-No!_ You did that on purpose!"

"I bet it looks pretty awful in here now," she muttered, listening to the water drip off the table onto the carpet. "It's almost as if..."

She looked up towards him. "The new _care-taker_... took advantage of the poor defenseless _blind woman_."

Hikaru looked down the phone sitting in her lap. "You can't just-"

"I wonder who my father would believe."

He gasped. "You _wouldn't_."

She glared and Hikaru could practically see the iron prison bar fall down around him.

"C _lean it up_."

* * *

"And then she just walked away!"

" _Ah_."

"I can't do this anymore, Kaoru."

"It's only been a few hours..."

"She's _insane_ ," he almost cried into the phone, but quickly caught himself, afraid a certain someone might be listening. "I'd rather bathe old people than live here. _Do_ something."

There was a long, drawn out sigh that rippled static through his cellphone and Hikaru rolled his eyes. _Honestly_ , he didn't call for a lecture. "What do you want _me_ to do? So you had to mop up water and take out the trash. Honestly Hikaru, this could be good for you."

Hikaru's groaned, and fell against the brick wall behind the apartment. He couldn't remember the last time he actually took out garbage, and was still trying to forget how degrading it felt sweeping up glass as she watched. Of course, she couldn't see him, but she looked pretty smug.

"I don't even know what to do." He sighed. Maybe it was the foreign responsibility, having to care for another person, but he was starting to feel desperate. A little training would have been nice, at least. Even a _to-do_ list would have sufficed. It was like he was taking care of someone's rabid _dog_."It's not _fair_. I didn't ask for this either. Why is she being like this?"

Kaoru laughed. "It's only for a little while-"

"But she's so _mean._ "

"Were you mean to _her_?" He asked.

" _No_." Hikaru shot back defensively, then hesitated. "... she _started_ it."

"So you were being _kind of_ a dick?"

"I didn't _do_ anything. She's been like this since I walked through the door-"

"For gods sakes, Hikaru. She's _blind_." he was interrupted again, and nearly threw his eyes to the back of his head when he was momentarily put on hold. "Try to be a bit nicer to her, eh?" Kaoru said when he returned. "Put yourself in her shoes. If you're friends, your service hours will be over in no time."

He scoffed. _Friends_. " _Sure_."

"I have everything under control here. You just focus on that grumpy little kitten of yours." Kaoru's voice fell distant again, just as Hikaru was correcting him, that Haruhi was more like an angry racoon dog than a kitten. "She's not even _pretty_." He added curtly, as if that was important enough to mention.

"I don't _like_ her." He continued. "I _hate_ it here. I didn't even do anything to deserve this. I bet I could sue-"

"Huh? uh... _yeah_." Kaoru muttered to someone else, before turning back to Hikaru. "I gotta go. Mom's calling. Make sure to behave, okay, Hika? Call me if anything exciting happens."

"But-"

"And _be nice_."

" _Kaoru_." He wined as the call ended. He huffed and let the phone slide somewhere into his deep coat pocket with another throatful groan. _Yeah, sure. Be nice._

"I _am_ nice." he grumbled to himself, stomping back up the stairs, back to Satan's lair. It _was_ her fault. If he so much as breathed in her direction she'd stare with murder in her eyes, and god forbid he help her grab something she couldn't see or reach. He thought she was going to throw that book at him.

That's fine, he threw the door open, two can play at that game.

"We've gotta set some ground rules." He kicked the door shut, catching sight of her sitting on the sofa, clearly ignoring him. "First rule, no more _breaking stuff_."

Haruhi sat against the cushions, with her feet curled beneath her, as she flipped a page of her book. "You missed a spot."

He glared. "You wouldn't _know_."

He actually missed a lot of spots, but he wasn't going to tell her that and he was giving himself an 'A for effort'.

"And secondly, you're not going to boss me around." He crossed his arms, trying to form some kind of dominance. "You're blind, not a child. Unless you want me to call your father and tell him about your little _hissy fit_."

She brought her knees to her chest, tightening her fingers around her book. But she didn't say anything, and he smirked arrogantly to himself, amused that he finally caught her biting her tongue. _Now if only she'd stay like that._

"And _thirdly_ -"

Hikaru found himself accidentally biting his own tongue when she threw her book down on the table. He spun around, ready to change rule three into "and stop throwing things" as she stood from the couch. She stumbled a bit, when her hand missed the wall to steady herself, and a voice in his head told him to help her, but the petty side just said "let her fall" so he stiffly turned away.

The walkway was tiny, so it wasn't hard to find herself round, but it was crowded, and having only took a few steps forward, she bumped into his shoulder. Which of course, only sent him into another laughing fit.

"Get out of my way." She growled.

Hikaru shrugged, and stepped aside.

Apparently it wasn't far enough, she pushed him anyway, and started for one of the doors in the dark corner.

"Don't get _lost_." He called out.

She didn't respond, feeling around the wall for the doorknob.

"Don't panic, Haruhi. Just follow my voice. _Marco_!"

"Fuck you."

"You're supposed to say _Polo._ "

He sighed as the door slammed shut.

"That's okay, we'll try again tomorrow."


	4. Chapter 3

**We Were Blind**

 _-3-_

* * *

Kaoru chuckled to himself, pocketing his phone after hanging up on his brother's obnoxious rambling. He sounded like he was under a great amount of distress, but he could only laugh at him.

He felt bad for the poor blind girl, but it did get Hikaru out of _his_ hair for once. He couldn't believe how quiet the office and he was only gone for a _day_.

An interesting six months, Kaoru mused, and took a sip of his coffee, noting to himself again how peaceful it was.

Until someone slammed the door opened with a loud thud and would have spit his coffee all down the front of his shirt if he didn't just choke on it.

"Kaoru," his other announced from the doorway, ignoring her son's slated glare as he wiped his sleeve against his mouth. "Is Hikaru back yet? I have to ask him something."

He almost didn't want to answer that.

"You're almost as bad as Hikaru." He sat back, clearing his throat. "He's serving his community service remember? He won't be back for awhile."

" _Oh,"_ trained to not wrinkle her forehead, her lips puckered in her pout, but she recovered quickly, and and moved her hands behind her back to quietly shut the door. Liking this new source of fun gossip. " _Right_. And how is community service treating him? Is he crying to come home yet?"

Kaoru hesitated, thinking back on their phone call a few moments ago. His brother most definitely crying, if not close to it. "It's _great_ ," he grinned, pushing his chair back, kicking his feet up on the desk. "You know how he is, he's a people pleaser. He's trying his best to make a good impression."

Yazuha raised her brow skeptically Hikaru? A people pleaser?

"We'll... there's a first time for everything." She muttered. "It's a good for him to learn some responsibility, I _guess_ , especially with the wedding coming up."

The mention of the wedding made Kaoru's face curl in a nasty scowl, but he spun his chair around, turning his back to her before she could see.

"I wonder why he chose service work instead of just paying the fine," she wondered out loud, pressing a long painted nail against her tinted pink cheek. "Could it be he really _is_ trying to make a good impression?" Then, she gasped and Kaoru almost spilled his coffee a second time all over his sketchbook. "I knew he'd come around to this whole marriage thing. Mr. Tanaka was already so charmed by him."

He sighed. "I _gues_ s."

It didn't take long to charm a guy like Daishi Tanaka. All Hikaru had to do was buy him dinner, with _credit,_ and flaunt just how many credit cards he had. Daishi was rich of course, to a certain degree, but his family wasn't anything impressive, and no history at all. He was a man who got lucky one day with the lottery, bought and sold a couple small businesses and labeled himself a wealthy business man. They were practically gold dust to him, and he drooled over a pretty hand full of cash, but they wouldn't benefit from someone like the Tanaka's, simply because they had nothing to offer, so Kaoru could only wonder why his mother would suggest such a fruitless marriage.

Then again, Hikaru was the idiot who agreed to it.

Kaoru looked up from his lashes, watching his mother twirl around his office, muttering about how great of an article this community service ordeal was going to make and how Hikaru's image after this was " _going to sparkle."_

"Oh, and Kaoru," Yazuha spun around as she swung the door open. "We're having the Tokoyami's over for dinner tonight. Wear something nice."

She disappeared behind the door before she could hear his inwardly groan before he threw himself into the back of his chair.

 _Fabulous_. Tokoyami had three daughters his age, of course his mother wouldn't miss _that_ opportunity.

 _At least Hikaru's having fun._

* * *

Hikaru wasn't having fun.

He shifted, and turned, then rolled over. A draft hit his bare shoulder and he pulled at the blankets, but then his feet were cold. He realized his nightmare was not yet over, when he opened is eyes and stared into the poorly textured ceiling, then, grudgidly turned over onto his other shoulder, ticking off everything little thing in his head that had personally offended him in the last twenty-four hours.

Namely the stupidly tiny couch.

He turned over again, stretching his arm out until it popped.

This was unfair punishment. He was totally suing.

He wasn't sure who he'd sue, but somebody was getting sued.

Hikaru closed his eyes again, but a sudden, familiar clanking sound of glass against wood made him sit up straight, but he didn't see anything, until he heard a hushed curse from behind him, and nearly threw himself over the head of the couch to see the other half of the tiny house. He was half expecting to see a giant mess of broken glass of the table, but there was only a slightly slipped, half empty cup of water. He eyes followed the shaking hand clutching the plastic water pitcher to a head of messy brown hair, sticking in all different directions.

It looked like stingy attempt to try and prove that she could pour a glass of water herself. It only proved she couldn't, but he had to admit, she was persistent.

"What're you _doing_?" He grumbled groggily.

"Oh," Haruhi muttered, making sure to turn her back towards him. " _You're_ still here."

"Obviously," he huffed. "Quit making a mess. You're cleaning that up yourself."

"I don't need you to tell me what to do."

Hikaru rolled his eyes, throwing off the flimsy blanket as he sat up. "Whatever. Go make me some coffee."

"Make _you_ coffee?"

"Non-fat frappucchino, quad with extra whipped cream, vanilla and chocolate sauce."

Haruhi glared absently at the table, wondering what _quad_ even meant. And what was the point of a non fat frappacchino with chocolate sauce? That was the coffee equivalent of ordering a large hamburger and a diet soda. _Stupid rich people._

She hugged herself inside her large hoodie and huddled back the kotatsu blanket. "Get it yourself."

"It's the least you could do for all the trouble you caused me yesterday."

"Just _die_ already."

Hikaru turned to look at her, silent until she moved to take a sip of her water. "I'm naked on your couch right now."

She started to choke.

* * *

She fought with herself. She felt that if she thought hard enough, the image she was trying to see, would be able to piece itself together in her mind. Everything was a guessing game, as she stumbled, lost in her own house. Not being able to know what she was grabbing on to, where she was stepping, which direction she was walking.

It was dark when her eyes were closed, and even darker when her eyes were open. The world was moving around her, but it felt her fumbling desperately in it's shadow. She could hear footsteps, and voices. She heard the wind rattle against the windows.

She held onto the memory of what everything used to look like and hoped it was still the same. She cowered away from anything unfamiliar, holding onto the fact that what you can't see can hurt you.

If it was up to her, she'd never leave her apartment. It's walls were silhouetted beyond her eyes. Every crack in the paint she caressed with her fingers made her feel secure. Anything further than her front door might as well be miles of raging infernos.

"Get up, we're going out."

Haruhi jumped, as there was a loud clap and almost dropped the book in her hand she could see.

She looked up. The amount of power she could muster into her scowl was impressive, despite not knowing what she was looking at. "We're _what_?"

Hikaru now stood in the doorway, tapping his foot. He was in the bathroom for almost an hour fixing his hair, and would have thought she'd at least be dressed presentably, but she was still in the last place he left her, in her baggy man hoodie and sweats. He thrust his finger towards her bedroom door. "I'm not taking you out looking like _that._ Go get dressed."

Haruhi snuggled stubbornly back under the blanket on the sofa, and closed her eyes. "I'm not going anywhere. Leave me alone."

He rolled his eyes so far back he almost saw the back of his head. Which would probably be a better view than her. "I'm not going to be trapped in here all day. We're going outside." He informed obnoxiously. "It's not going to kill you."

She rolled onto her side to face the couch. " _Leave_ then. I'm staying here."

"I _can't_." He snapped in a groan. He'd lost count how many times he'd done that today, and it was only _ten a.m._ "Dear old _dad_ said I'm not allowed to leave you home alone. Now... go get your _pants_ on."

She ticked her tongue. Of course her father would be that paranoid. Being blind was serving to be more of a pain than she thought.

"If only I was _deaf_ instead so I couldn't hear you talk."

"Oh no, I'm _so_ offended. And I enjoy our conversations so _much_. You're such a joy."

"Whatever," she grumble and pulled the blankets over her head, hoping that If she ignored him, maybe he would go away. "I don't care what you do. I won't tell him. Anything that'll get you away from me for for an _hour_. Or better yet- don't come back."

Hikaru's stood tall over the couch, arms crossed tightly under his chest.. He was about to throw his arms up and say ' _screw it'._ He'd do anything for five minutes away from her, and to hell with what his social worker will say, until he heard a distinct sound that suspiciously sounded like a grumble, and it didn't come from her mouth.

Hikaru glared at the tiny lump in the blanket. "You didn't eat dinner last night, _did you_?"

Of course she didn't, he answered himself. He should have known that _last night_ when she didn't come out of her room. It left a familiar knot in his stomach, that Kaoru would sometimes call 'guilt', and leaving the very blind girl he was supposed to be taking care of to _starve_ was admittedly not something a good care taker would do, but he didn't see how that was his fault. It wasn't his responsibility to _feed_ it, too.

 _...Was it?_

It didn't take him long to realize that it probably was.

 _Oh no, I forgot to feed it._

" _Y_ ou really do need help." He sighed, and when no further sounds came from the lump, he prodded it with his foot, before leaning over with his hands on his knees, whispering to the lump as if it were a puppy. "If you're good, I'll give you a treat-"

Which only resulted in a foot flying out of the blanket and swiftly kicking him in the stomach.

But he didn't give himself time to cry about it, as he quickly grabbed her ankle and jerked her out from under the blanket, almost pulling her out onto the floor. She gasped and tried to kick him away but he grabbed a hold of both her feet and pulled her close against him, until she was straddling his waist.

Haruhi winced, feeling him press into her.

"Rule number _four_ ," he growled under his breath, leaning in close to he r face as she tried to turn away. "No _hitting_."

In all the things she wish she could see, she mused, as she felt his warm breath brush across her lips, she was glad she couldn't see _him_.

She twisted, and tried to turn away, but his hands moved from her feet to her wrists and trapped her beneath him. The more she struggled,the more he tightened his grip.

"Let _go_ ," She hissed.

"Listen, _girl_ ," he clenched his jaw, trying fruitlessly to hold eye-contact, to establish dominance, until he realized that was pointless, as she stared coldly into his chest. "I've tried to be nice-"

She scoffed. " _Tried_?"

"And I'm not getting a bad mark because little _miss attitude_ wants to be independent," he continued. "You're _blind_ , so _I'm_ in charge. And we can either do this the easy way, where you do what I say, or the hard way, where I tell your father you're too _difficult_ to live with and too incapable to live on your own."

"So go _brush_ your hair." Hikaru added, getting a sick kind of thrill watching her flinch from his words. "Because I doubt you want to live in a special facility where they keep someone like you."

"He wouldn't believe you." She muttered, defensively. "He knows I'm fine on my-"

"If he thought you were fine, would he have called for someone take care of you?" he whispered close to her face, feeling her chest rise against his as she held her breath. "I bet you you can't even tie your own shoes. Is that why you don't want to go? You've been in the same clothes since I got here, you probably can't even dress yourself."

She went quiet.

She wanted to argue, that of course she could, she just didn't feel like it, but that sounded like more of an excuse to not do it, than anything else and probably wouldn't sound very believable. She said nothing, with her tongue in her cheek, as she recoiled against him, and he started to laugh, knowing he was right again.

Hikaru dipped his face close to hers again, taking too delicate fingers to lift her chin until her eyes could find his. "If you're having trouble, I could _help_ you."

Her face turned ten different shades of pink before it settled on a pretty tint of red and he laughed again.

"I-...I'm not!" She shouted, flustered, trying to kick him away.

"Are you having lewd thoughts?" he teased thoughtfully, smirking as she scrambled onto her feet. "Don't get excited, I'm not attracted to girls like _you_."

There it was again. " _Like you_ " said like as if she was some type of animal, He was disgusted by her, and thought by humiliating her, he was somehow doing her a favor.

"I'll consider myself lucky," she spat.

He just shrugged.

* * *

"What is _that_?"

Haruhi twitched, hearing his stupid voice again, as she held onto the door frame. She made a note to buy herself some earplugs. She submitted into going out, in hopes he'd shut up, but he obviously wasn't capable of that.

" _What_?" she snapped.

He gave her an irritated glance, turning his lip up at her offensive choice of clothes. Her baggy shirt and faded capris practically looked like rags compared to his tailored coat and pants, and perhaps he could have ignored it, but Hikaru being Hikaru, he wasn't about to not have an opinion.

" _That_." he threw his hand towards her, gestured to nothing in particular. "It's embarrassing. And you didn't even brush your hair. Were you just dawdling for the last fifteen minutes?"

"Whatever, just get out of my way."

"I'm not even _by_ you."

Haruhi ignored him, and Hikaru sulkingly shoved his hands into his pockets and waited for her to grab her ugly hoodie. Kaoru always teased him for how impatient he could be, but Hikaru never really noticed until he had to wait up for someone every five steps. Everything he did took Haruhi twice as long. The taxi arrived before she even found her way out the door and down the steps, (because there was no way he was sleeping on a couch and riding a subway all in the same day) and almost shouted at her again for taking so long to get into the car.

She stumbled getting out of the car and stumbled over a crack in the sidewalk, and had fallen so far behind him, he had to jog back and and reluctantly decided just to grab her hand and walk with her until they finally reached the tiny door of the cafe, despite her complaining and tugging at her hand the entire way.

Hikaru took one look at it's red and white striped canopy door and wanted to turn back around, but decided he would rather eat cheap common food than deal with Haruhi's short legs again.

After he realized no one was going to show him to a table, he led Haruhi to the one furthest from everyone else, and after she carefully slid into the bench in front of him, he snapped open the menu with a critical stare, then sat it back on the table, deeming it useless.

"Order whatever you want," he said, "I wasn't given an allowance for you, so I'll just keep the receipts. You can pay me back later."

"I don't need you to pay for me," Haruhi huffed. "I'd rather not be indebted to you."

He looked up as Haruhi fumbled through her purse he just then realized she had, and after a few moments of staring into it completely lost, she finally pulled out a small brown wallet, and sat a thousand yen on the table.

"Where did _you_ get money?"

"I had a job," she said quietly. _Two in fact_ , she wanted to add, but didn't.

" _Had_ a job?"

"I was fired."

He scoffed. "Why am I not surprised."

"Yeah, you're kind of useless in the kitchen and waiting tables when you can't _fucking_ see."

"Valid point."

She opened her mouth to argue back, but someone else's voice came out instead.

"May I take your order?"

The waitress , pulling out her note pad, licking her lips as he turned to him. "What will you have, sir?"

Hikaru looked up, natural insitnicts kicking in as he winked at the waitress. "Grande Chai caremel macchiato, extra-whip and a pinch cinnamon. No foam. And a Steak Au Poivre. Medium rare. Hold the pepper."

The girl blinked, suddenly feeling a lot less attracted to him. "...A milked coffee... and a cheeseburger?"

He frowned. Confused.

She turned to Haruhi. "And you?"

Haruhi hadn't even bothered opening the menu or looking towards the waitress. It would have been pointless anyway. "Just an iced tea." She muttered.

"Tea isn't food." Hikaru scolded suddenly.

"I'm not _hungry_." She retorted.

"She'll have whatever... that is." He said, ignoring her as he pointed to the first thing on the menu cover, and the waitress started to hesitantly jolt it down.

"Alright-"

"If I wanted something, I would have _said_ something." Haruhi growled.

"Just do what I say." He groaned again. "Why are you being so unpleasant?"

"If you weren't so bossy-"

"You guys make sure a cute couple." The waitress murmured sarcastically, to which they both started to sputter in horror.

"We- we're _not_!" Hikaru gasped.

"I would _never_ date him." Haruhi said firmly as if the idea was outrageously disgusting.

"I'll uh..." the waitress started to back away awkwardly, "I'll be right back then. If you're... finished."

" _Never_? And what's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Why are you suddenly offended?"

"For your information, every girl in Japan wants to date me. You have no idea what a privilege it is for you to even be sitting next to me right now. Much less live with me."

"A _privilege_? You couldn't pay me to live with you. _Willingly_." She added bitterly.

" _You're_ the one who'd made this an absolute _nightmare_."

"Nightmare would be an _understatement_."

* * *

The door opened, and one by one, with a rough hand, they were both shoved out of the cafe.

"And _stay out_." The owner barked. The bell on the door ringing cheerily as he slammed it shut.

Hikaru gasped, appalled. Never had he been kicked out of anywhere before, he thought, as he dusted off his jacket. His mother would be _so_ upset to hear how he was just grabbed. She'd totally sue.

He turned to Haruhi in a huff. "This is _your_ fault."

* * *

 **This story was an impulse publish, and I can't believe this is my most viewed story right now Haha. Thank you for reading!**

 **This is meant to be a short story, so expect faster upsets for this one, as I get my muse back for some of my longer stories.**

 **#TeamHaruhi xD (sorry Hikaru).**


End file.
